Getting the message out on climate can be challenging, especially for an area as large as the Great Lakes Region of the United States and Canada. But partnering with the Ohio State University Sea Grant program has moved the Wisconsin Idea up the iTunes chart, thanks to three UW-Madison faculty members.

Webinar instructors include Daniel Vimont, a UW-Madison associate professor of atmospheric and oceanic sciences, Jonathan Patz, director of the UW-Madison Global Health Institute, and David S. Liebl, UW-Cooperative Extension statewide climate and stormwater outreach specialist. Vimont and Patz are Nelson Institute affiliates, and all three are members of the Wisconsin Initiative on Climate Change Impacts (WICCI).

Split into seven categories – ecosystems, public health, infrastructure, water, climate, public policy, and education – the webinars provide an overview of the research being conducted to better understand how climate change will affect the Great Lakes Region. Providing this type of information is critical to helping prepare for climate impacts by minimizing vulnerability and improving resilience, says Liebl.

“The term ‘climate change’ has both political and scientific connotations,” he explains. “This webinar series allows viewers to judge for themselves whether this is an issue they should be doing something about.”

Liebl says WICCI’s involvement in the webinar series was a natural fit.

“WICCI has been at the vanguard of climate adaptation since 2007. Our reputation for collaborative engagement between policymakers, scientists and other stakeholders, along with the pioneering climate projections from CCR, is the reason we were asked to participate,” he says.